


The Third Party

by TwilightMaster15



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Complicated Relationships, F/F, Forgiveness, Princess Catra (She-Ra)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22634188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightMaster15/pseuds/TwilightMaster15
Summary: When Shadow Weaver thinks she has Adora back, she tells Catra they don't need her anymore. While to most this looked like a demotion, to Catra, this was the final straw to make her leave the Horde. But she isn't joining the Rebellion. She, with the help of Scorpia, Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle, is going to form her own team and dominate over Etheria.The Rebellion, lacking the sword since Catra took it with her, are determined to break into the Horde base so they can get She-ra back, but in the process ostracize swordless Adora until she wonders if her "best friend squad" was only keeping her around so they could have She-ra.The Horde is panicking, having lost two of their force captains, and constant attacks from the princesses. Eventually Shadow Weaver attempts to call a temporary truce with the Rebellion because Catra is their common enemy. Will this work? And will it even be worth anything against newly crowned Princess Catra and her allies?Set during season one back before Catra went nuts.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 134





	1. Chapter 1

"Pack your things," Shadow Weaver said, "Now that Adora is back, there's no need for you there."

Catra felt something snap in her at her adopted mother's words. D-Did they really only use her to get Adora back and then throw her away? Her entire body trembled, but she did her best to hide it. Her knuckles turned white as she clenched them, one hand around Adora's sword. 

She saw her former best friend tied down, and Catra realized something as she turned to leave, ignoring Adora and Shadow Weaver. If Hordak and Shadow Weaver weren't going to appreciate what she could do, why should she stay with them? Unlike Adora, she wouldn't be missed.

Packing a bag, Catra smirked as she decided that she was taking the sword with her. Screw the Horde, they didn't deserve She-ra. But neither did the Rebellion, so Catra decided she was going to keep the sword for herself.

She didn't know where she was going to go, but she did know she wasn't going to Brightmoon until she was ready to take over in her own right. A third party... that sounded nice. And she could prove her worth to the Horde, and when Shadow Weaver realized the mistake she made in abandoning and abusing Catra, Catra would use her own claws to strike her abuser down.

Catra nodded to herself as a plan formed in her mind, and she turned when she saw Scorpia, "Catra? What are you doing?"

"Leaving." Catra answered, "I'm leaving the Horde, and I'm forming my own team." Scorpia gaped, and Catra wondered if she was going to regret this, but she gestured for Scorpia to follow, "Come along if you want."

She could have sworn Scorpia's eyes started sparkling, "You're inviting me along? That means we're best friends!"

Catra smiled a little, "Come on, we still need to avoid the princesses. We both know that Adora's going to be free in five minutes tops." She scoffed. Shadow Weaver may act all scary, but she never did anything proactive. Losing two of their force captains after Adora left was going to be catastrophic. 

To screw with the Horde, even more, Catra quickly located the barely conscious Rogelio, Lonnie, and Kyle. "Come on, guys, we're leaving the Horde."

Lonnie was the first to truly process what she was saying, "What? Catra, you're turning against us?!"

"I still want to take out the Rebellion, but I've decided that Shadow Weaver and Hordak need to be taken down a peg or ten. If you're not going to come along, don't, but..." she looked away, "I'd appreciate it."

Kyle rubbed his back, clearly in pain, "I-I want to go with you, Catra." Lonnie and Rogelio looked at him in shock, and Kyle nodded, "I trust Catra..."

Catra handed Kyle a weapon, "Welcome to the third party, Kyle."

Rogelio made noises confirming he wanted to come too. Lonnie crossed her arms, before rolling her eyes, "We're done protecting Shadow Weaver and Hordak." Scorpia beamed,

"We're going to rule the world!" She put her claw in the center, "Hands in!" Catra shrugged and did it, followed by the others, "Team third party!"

OoOoO

"We lost the sword _and_ Entrapta?!" Bow screeched, and Adora shrank down,

"The sword is still with Catra—with the Horde." 

"We need She-ra back!" Glimmer announced, "We need to go back in there and get it." Then she screamed and fell to her knees. Perfuma raised a meek hand,

"I think we should rest first. We have Adora, so the sword is useless to them, right?"

"Maybe," Adora said, "But Shadow Weaver also knows I can't be She-ra without it, so they have a huge advantage just by having it, it doesn't matter if they use it or not."

"So, what?" Mermista asked, "We lost?"

"No, of course not," Glimmer insisted, "But we're at a disadvantage until we get it back. We'll stay here tonight so we can attack in the morning."

"Glimmer, no," Bow said, "We have to go back to Brightmoon so you can rest. And we can come back with backup." Glimmer crossed her arms as though she were a little brat child,

"But, we're never going to win without She-ra!" Adora, now actually angry, stood up, 

"Excuse me!? Do you think I'm only useful for She-ra? I will have you know that the Horde wants me back so badly because I'm the best fighter and force captain they've got. I can be plenty helpful without the sword until we get it back. And my experience says we all need to go back to Brightmoon and rest."

Glimmer let out an obnoxiously long-suffering groan, "Fine!"

OoOoO

"You're telling me we lost not only Adora, but the sword, and two of our force captains?!" Hordak bellowed, and Shadow Weaver tried to calm him,

"We will find Catra, I'm sure she's just being a child and trying to prove herself. It won't be long before she comes crawling back, perhaps with Queen Angela's head. I have no doubt she will return on her own. As for Adora, it stands to reason the Rebellion only wanted her as She-ra, which she can't be if Catra has the sword. With a little manipulation from my shadows, I'm sure I can make Adora leave the Rebellion and come back to us." 

Hordak glared at her, and she would be dead if looks could kill. Meanwhile, Shadow Weaver was debating leaving the Horde since they were clearly on the losing side right now. 

"Bring all of out force captains back, or you will regret it." He turned away to hide in his room some more, and Shadow Weaver began to panic because there was a chance Catra wasn't going to come back. She had to find the cat-girl and find her fast, only then could she make sure to manipulate her enough into a guarantee of her coming back.

What she did know was she had to find Catra fast before she broke out of the cycle of abuse and could stand on her own as a functioning person.

OoOoO

"So..." Kyle struggled with putting on the new clothing, "Where are we going?" 

All five of them had stolen some clothes which had been on drying racks, so they could interact with other kingdoms without being identified as Horde soldiers. Most of the team was merely wearing different colors of their usual attire, but Catra had gone all out. She wore a black and dark gray collared suit adorned with gold accents, black trousers, a black and brown belt embellished with a purple stone. And her hairpiece was dark purple now. The sword was in a sheath on her back.

"I was thinking about the crimson waste." Catra answered, "My original idea was Beast Island, but I decided against that, not until we have enough people with us."

"Isn't the crimson waste dangerous?" Scorpia asked, and Catra paused,

"Yes, but I heard a rumor that other Horde defects are there, so that at least means the Horde won't find us yet. Maybe assert a little dominance."

"Catra," Lonnie said, "I never thought you were the type to betray the Horde. Why are you doing this?"

"To prove to Shadow Weaver... to Adora... to myself, that I am more than what they have made me. Besides, I hate everyone on both sides of the war, the only people I can consider friends are you guys. Why put up with people I can't stand when I can form a team I trust and can dominate?"

"So, we're taking over everything?" Kyle asked, and Catra shrugged,

"I don't see why not, but something like that will take time. For now, let's see how the crimson waste works out. First, let's go around and ask for supplies."


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days for the Third Party were insane. As much as Catra wished she could tell someone what had happened, everything had happened so fast, in a blur, that it was hard to pinpoint specific events. All she remembered was the blossoming feeling of hope, something she had never truly felt before.

One minute, she and her ragtag band of defects had had nowhere to go and were looking for some allies. Catra gave a speech to rally them up, discovering they weren't the only Horde defects, and now that they had She-ra's sword, they could get revenge for the mistreatment they endured and conquer Brightmoon.

The next thing Catra knew, she was sitting on a throne in a peculiar ship that was used as her castle, an expertly crafted crown on her head with a gem on amber within, in place of her usual headpiece. Her gown was still able to be used in battle, and was much like her new attire, except the purple was a matching amber.

"Long live Princess Catra!" Scorpia shouted, earning cheers from all the people... Catra's people. She grinned, now she was equal to Adora—a princess. But who cared if she had powers or not? It was time to level the playing field, and just because the rebellion could alter the elements didn't deter her in any way.

But she knew she had to be careful. If the crimson waste could go about making princesses, they could also un-make them. She had to play her cards right and keep them close to her chest unless for her close allies.

For the sake of avoiding her reign becoming a tyranny, Catra asked her friends to act as a council to help her talk through choices to make sure nothing because too irrational. Scorpia was thrilled to be valued so much, and Kyle was glad to not be considered the servant.

Which led to now, Catra exhausted from days of being a princess. She had had some of her people look at other kingdoms, and they seemed to be playing games all the time and not focusing on the war. How was the Horde struggling against them? Oh yeah, they had She-ra. She held up the sword to look at as she laid down and smirked. Well, they used to have She-ra.

It was strange, being gifted a silk nightgown as pajamas instead of the tank top and shorts she was used to in the Horde. Did Adora live in these luxuries in Brightmoon? Catra wouldn't deny her hope that the rebellion would tear themselves apart without She-ra, and Adora would come to Catra. The new princess was angry at her friend, but in hindsight, life away with the Horde was so much better, and she understood why. It didn't mean she wasn't angry at being abandoned when Adora had just met those people and hadn't seemed to regret anything, but she still would welcome Adora into her new kingdom with open arms.

"Hey, Catra," Catra shot up and saw Scorpia had come in and was holding a strange thing, "The cooks say this is cake, and I was wondering if you wanted some. It's delicious!" Catra nodded with a smile, taking a fork and nervously taking a bite. Her eyes widened, and she dug in excitedly.

"Thank you, Scorpia." She had to admit, while she used to find Scorpia annoying, it was nice to have friends by her side during this strange new adventure.

Scorpia relaxed a bit, "Princess Catra, has a nice ring to it. And someone already wants to meet with you and offer their services. I was told to tell you to expect a meeting after breakfast tomorrow."

"With who?" Catra asked, and Scorpia shrugged,

"They called themself Double Trouble, I think." Catra grinned as she finished the cake,

"Sounds interesting." She sighed, "Scorpia, I don't understand. Am I doing something wrong? All the other princesses are dancing around and playing games and throwing fancy balls, and I'm working myself into exhaustion to get my people ready for a war. Is there something about being a princess that I don't know?" Scorpia gently placed part of her claw under Catra's chin,

"Catra, you're doing everything you can. Remember that this kingdom is new, while those other princesses inherited established kingdoms. Or they haven't lived their whole lives as soldiers. You know what will win this, they don't. You are not the problem. I'm always going to be here for you, Catra." Catra hugged Scorpia, glad to hear from someone that she was worth something and doing a good job.

"Sometimes, I fear I'm letting my anger blind me."

"You're not. If you were, you wouldn't have asked for the experienced fighters to train the less capable, so everyone is at their best before their first attack on the Horde. From what the spies have been telling me, the rebellion has constantly been attacking the Horde, so they might be weakened to the point of this being easy."

"Rebellion or the Horde being weakened?"

"Both."

Catra smirked a little, standing up and practicing swinging the sword. It was perfectly balanced, but the actual blade was surprisingly heavy. No wonder Adora had to turn into a giant eight-foot woman to wield this to the best of her ability. Still, Catra was determined to master combat with this.

She looked down at her nightgown. She was tired but found she wasn't yet ready to sleep. Catra quickly changed into some armor—something she had noticed the rebellion was lacking—and looked to Scorpia,

"I need to practice with the sword. Do you want to spar with me?"

Scorpia's eyes gleamed, "I would love to! Best friend activities!" 

OoOoO

Adora laid down on her bed, sighing. The princesses were off attacking the Horde, and no matter how much she tried to recommend strategies and pinpoint which member of the Horde specialized in which form of combat, it was like losing the sword made her invisible. Bow was the only one who noticed her as though she was worth a damn.

She could practically hear Catra laughing at her, or even Shadow Weaver. 

_"They want to use you for your strength."_

Sure, Shadow Weaver had, without a doubt, been wanting to do the same thing, but it was the fact her former abuser seemed to be correct felt like a knife was plunged into her stomach and was twisted. 

What was Catra doing right now? No doubt, she was a force captain and embracing having all the power. Adora bowed her head as she looked out the window, tears in her eyes.

She had cut ties with Catra, but right now, she just wanted to turn back the clock and cry in the arms of her best friend. She hadn't realized what a fantastic friend she had until it was too late. Even if there was anger for Catra taking the sword, there was no denying it was a brilliant move, and they were in a war, she couldn't expect Catra to spare feelings.

"Catra... I miss you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. It was a combined factor of writer's block, season 5 coming out and me seeing how I was gonna craft that into the narrative, and then my parents cancelled Netflix so I can mainly run off youtube reactions and memory. I will try to be more frequent in updates.

Catra sat on the balcony of her castle, gazing out at the Crimson Waste and the land's restoration in progress. Just like the crown atop her head and her hair tied in braids in such a way the tiara was woven into it, it was strange to think about. Her castle. Her people. There was nobody to be second place to here. No Shadow Weaver to tell her she would be discarded the moment Adora was found. This was a place where Catra could rule, and even if she didn't have powers, she would never let anyone take this place from her.

But while ruling from here was more than she had ever dreamed, part of her wanted to go out and see for herself how the war was going. To officially join with an attack was far off until her kingdom was prepared and trained—as much as she wanted to prove herself, to send her men into a suicide mission was both cruel and downright stupid.

For now, she was content to use her new spy to learn what she could about Brightmoon. The Fright Zone wasn't going to have many drastic changes if the years of training and the stalemate of this war for so long under Hordak's subpar leadership told her anything. She had been playing this game long enough to know the princesses would jump in and assume the sword was still with Shadow Weaver, meaning she would find out any updates on her former home without any extra spies.

Catra giggled a bit when she saw Kyle playing with the children below, as they had grown to adore him, and he showed them how to play fight and sent a lovesick grin to Rogelio, who was training the adults with Lonnie. She almost wanted to help Kyle just confess his obvious feelings when this was all over. He may think his crush was a secret, but it had been obvious since they were young.

She jumped a bit when her tablet alerted her to a call with Double Trouble, and she picked up, leaning against the railing, "Any news?"

Double Trouble grinned, their eyes twinkling with glee from the role they were playing, "The princesses are convinced the sword is with the Fright Zone and are planning another attack tonight."

"Alright, so nothing new," she rolled her eyes, "Anything else?"

"You asked me to keep an eye on Adora, and it seems she has grown restless and is sneaking out to join the fight. She headed out a few minutes ago to the Fright Zone. I made an excuse for my character staying here, but I can tail her."

Her interest was piqued, but at the same time, fear crept up her spine. It wasn't that she doubted Adora in the slightest, but given how awful princesses were, she didn't want Adora to be punished or whatever princesses did to those who disobeyed. She remembered stories from her childhood, of some princesses who would cut the heads off their subjects who disobeyed. For something like that to happen to Adora was unacceptable.

She got up, "No need. Stay in Brightmoon. I'm going after Adora." She hung up and put on some more mobile clothes, not bothering to go through the trouble of removing the braids with the crown, grabbing a dark cloak to conceal it for the most part as she hurried out of the castle.

"Catra?" Lonnie caught up with her, "What is it?"

"Adora's doing something risky and I want to make sure the princesses don't hurt her."

"Catra," Lonnie put a hand on her hip, "Do you really think they're going to hurt her if they think they can still use her as She-ra when the sword's back?"

"I don't know," she knew to bring the sword was a bad idea just in case Adora was able to take it back as Catra was still not used to the balancing of it, so she grabbed a normal broadsword instead, "But I don't plan to take the risk. Besides," she shrugged, "Maybe I can bring her to our side."

"I'll go with you," Lonnie offered, and Catra shook her head, putting her hands on Lonnie's shoulders,

"I appreciate that, but I think I'll be able to move faster alone, and I need you here training the soldiers. Scorpia is helping build, right?" Lonnie nodded, and Catra raced through the Crimson Waste under cover of early twilight as the sky began to darken, hoping she wouldn't be there too late.

...

Adora trekked through the Whispering Woods, mostly sure of where she was going, but there was a small nagging part of her that had its doubts. She had her staff in hand, so she knew she would be fine, and she headed in the direction of the Fright Zone to join the others. They would understand her being there; she was sure of it. They were just protective and had the numbers and security to be able to leave her behind.

Well... she scoffed a bit. Security meaning they had a lot of resources and were stable. The palace's actual guards were easy to sneak past, but perhaps that was just childhood memories of training in evasion making it easier.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, alerting her that something was here. She would have brushed it off as nothing, but if the war had taught her anything, it was to trust her intuition in moments like that.

"Who's there?" She called, looking up at the pale light of the moon peeking through the occasional parts of the forest not covered by trees.

"Hey, Adora," Adora spun around and just barely missed hitting Catra with her staff. But then she did a double-take, momentarily unsure if it was Catra at all before she was sure that yes, this was most definitely Catra, but she was different.

She seemed to have gotten more sleep, for starters, and her skin had a healthier glow to it. It was as though a massive burden had been lifted from her shoulders, and it was further proven by a soft smile. Adora would never admit to herself that the next place she looked was Catra's very formfitting attire that hugged her in all the right places.

But the thing that tore her gaze from Catra's amazing curves was the crown atop her head, the orange gem peeking out under a navy blue cloak, the contract matching her eyes of gold and turquoise.

She didn't realize she was just staring until Catra chuckled a bit, "I wouldn't have expected to find you in these woods alone. Where are your friends?" Her last words were said with bitterness. Adora then remembered Catra must know where the sword was! But the words that came out of her mouth was nothing related to that.

"Catra! You look different! It's—it's a good different." Catra chuckled,

"Thanks. I've certainly been feeling better lately."

Adora looked Catra over again, "How did you get that crown? I wouldn't think Shadow Weaver would allow something like that."

Catra walked past Adora, her cloak blowing in the gentle breeze, "Yeah, well Shadow Weaver isn't running the show anymore." She turned back, "You're going to the Fright Zone because your 'best friends' abandoned you for your supposed own good, right?"

"Yeah," she admitted hesitantly, "They mean well, just—" she cut herself off, remembering she and Catra had made their choices and were on different sides of the war. She couldn't be telling Catra any of this.

"Adora," Catra's face gave way to genuine concern, holding Adora's hands gently and sweetly like before everything, "You can't join the fight. You know what most princesses do to those who disobey!"

"Yeah, a failed grounding," Adora scoffed, before realizing Catra still probably believed those stories they had been told, "Catra, they're nothing like what we grew up hearing. There's no beheadings or flogging, it's just a slap on the wrist at best until the queen eventually gives up. We mostly can do whatever we want."

Catra pulled away, sighing, "That's what you think for now." She met Adora's eyes hesitantly, "You really care for them, don't you? That you would turn against all of us for them."

"It's not like that," Adora pleaded, "I asked you to come with me, and that offer is still open." She held out her hand, "Come on, Catra, if you're in charge, we can go get my sword and finish this war once and for all."

And for a moment, she saw the conflict in Catra's eyes, and she felt a spark of hope that Catra would take her hand this time. It wasn't too late, and maybe Shadow Weaver trying to demote her would turn her against the Fright Zone completely.

She knew she shouldn't have been surprised, but she still felt disappointment when Catra stepped away from her, glaring.

"Is that all you care about, Adora? Getting your sword back?" She snapped, "You're more than just a sword, and maybe our friendship was worth more too." She turned away, "Goodbye, Adora." She jumped into a tree, and Adora was unable to follow her.

"Catra, wait!" She felt her breath hitch seeing Catra leave, and her thinking their friendship was only for a sword. Just the thought didn't sit right, and she looked to where she assumed the Fright Zone was, wondering why Catra had come and left from a different direction. Was she wrong about where she was going? Should she follow Catra?

She leaned against a tree, letting herself sink down to the ground. Should she even follow Glimmer and Bow to the Fright Zone?

...

Catra didn't take off like she had wanted to. She had to make sure Adora wasn't lost in the woods. She perched in a tree out of sight, not saying anything and pushing away the turmoil of her mind.

Adora was extremely loyal to these princesses. What had they done to turn Adora to their side? It still didn't make sense what they possibly could have done in less than a day to change her. Had the sword messed with her mind? Did they put a spell on her?

It probably wasn't the sword because Catra had had it for a while now, and if anything, Adora's loyalty seemed almost stronger. She knew Shadow Weaver knew plenty of magic, so was there some sort of magic to do such a thing as changing Adora's allegiance?

Catra planned to study sorcery so she could be on close to equal footing to the other princesses, if not to use it, than to have an understanding of it. That was something she made a mental note to look for and ask about.

She let herself drift into a fantasy of Adora running into her arms, freed from a spell over her mind, thanking her and holding her, their lips brushing together. Then they could rule over Etheria side by side, with nobody to force them to do anything. But she brushed it away, not getting her hopes up until she knew for sure. The idea sounded insane as it was.

As appealing as the idea of this not really being Adora's will, she couldn't treat it like that without proof. While she doubted it, maybe that Princess Glimmer girl was charismatic and manipulative? That meant she had to break Adora's faith in them in a different way.

She waited until Adora seemed to decide to head to the Fright Zone, and Catra stayed in the trees until she arrived, knowing it wouldn't be long before Shadow Weaver tried to get in her head, and it would be revealed Catra had left.

As she hurried back to her own kingdom to warn her people that they would be on the map soon, as well as stay off Shadow Weaver's radar, countless plans flew through her head to bring Adora to her side and win this war possibly without fighting.

But to do that, she would need the help of Double Trouble.


End file.
